Welcome to the June Carnival of Natural Parenting: Outdoor fun
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared their stories and tips for playing outside with kids. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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The girls are my parents' first grandchildren which means they have been lavished with all kinds of attention and presents since birth. Their shoe wardrobe at six months was more extensive than mine.
Let's not hold punches, they're spoiled every time my parents visit. I usually indulge my mom and dad, after all they have been waiting for this day for years. And honestly I would let them buy them buy the girls diamond tiaras if it meant a week of free babysitting.
But I finally drew the line at their latest scheme: an outdoor play set. Don't get me wrong, I have dreamed of having one for the kids too. Who wouldn't want their child to have their own wonderland in the backyard? But then I started really thinking about it.
Doesn't a play set take away some of the magic of the backyard? Isn't the backyard itself a wonderland? When I was a kid my most fun times were digging holes in piles of dirt and having picnics in the clubhouses I created. We just moved to a new home with a backyard that is ripe for those kind of adventures.
So this summer we plan to spend a lot of time outside in our new space. Yes there will be the turns at the water table and the trips in the Cozy Coupes. But there will also be lots of lying on quilts looking up the clouds, outside story times that involve piles of books, and much blowing of bubbles. Lots of just being.
And I think, or at least hope, that there will be lots of secret twin confidences and lots of giggling as they run off to explore. And when we start jonesing for a slide? Well it's lucky we live a block from two different parks.
As for my parents, they took it in stride though I am sure some other scheme is being cooked up as I write. I did hear whispers of a Disney trip even though the girls have only seen one of the "princess" movies. Oh well, as long as I get a child free meal out of it, I'm good.
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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
- Garden Treats — Asha at Mom Costume has once again been bitten by the gardening bug — and this time her baby's tagging along for some fresh air and dirt exploration. (@titbagsandsnoot)
- Outdoor Free Roam — Mamapoekie at Authentic Parenting follows her daughter's lead whenever they go outside. (@mamapoekie)
- Summer fun in Austin with a toddler — Jessica at This Is Worthwhile is brainstorming ways to beat the heat in Texas. (@tisworthwhile)
- summer fun… — Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children is looking forward to spending the summer outside with her children the way she used to spend summers with her mother.
- Outdoor Fun for Pre-Walkers — Maman A Droit has figured out ways to let her pre-walker enjoy the outdoors. (@MamanADroit)
- Summer Homeschool Fun at Camp Review — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now discusses how Camp Review motivated and captivated her homeschooling family. (@DebChitwood)
- Digging, Tree Climbing and Puddle Jumping — Laura at Laura's Blog bemoans the loss of her girls' climbing tree but knows they'll find something else just as naturally tempting.
- The Sweet Smells of Summer — Erin at A Beatnik's Beat on Life is looking forward to the many smells of summer she and her daughters enjoy and identify. (@babybeatnik)
- June Carnival of Natural Parenting: Outdoor Fun — Sybil at Musings of a Milk Maker is a confirmed couch potato who can't help but be inspired by the outdoor opportunities Seattle offers her family. (@sybilryan)
- Take a Hike — Michelle at The Parent Vortex connects with her family and the Earth on frequent hikes in their Pacific wilderness. (@TheParentVortex)
- Following Paul — Julie at Simple Life gives her kids unstructured time to dig in the dirt and pick mulberries. (@homemakerjulie)
- Instilling a Love of the Outdoors in Your Baby/Toddler — Tessasdad at Stay At Home Dad in Lansing offers a photo book of tips for helping your little ones enjoy the outdoors. (@tessasdad)
- Camping, baby! — Jen at Grow With Graces has easy tips for tent camping with a little one. (@growwithgraces)
- Think Outside the Easel for Summertime Fun — Acacia at Be Present Mama finds several ways to bring art fun to the outdoors.
- Outdoor Learning in our Urban Environment — Andrea at Ella-Bean & Co. has found ways to get grass between her daughter's toes, even in the city.
- Outdoor Education — Alison at BluebirdMama offers parents tips and resources for making each outdoor excursion a learning experience. (@childbearing)
- Turning Inside Out — Christie of Childhood 101 finds kids get a kick out of taking indoor toys outside. (@Childhood101)
- Watching Peas Sprout — Deb at Science@home combines fun with purpose in this educational outdoor activity. (@ScienceMum)
- How To Create a Pirate Treasure Hunt & Other Easy Outdoor Pirate Activities (June Carnival of Natural Parenting) — Dionna at Code Name: Mama has pirate-themed play ideas for ye scurvy landlubbers. (@CodeNameMama)
- What We Do — Luschka at Diary of a First Child has managed to expose her 8-month-old to a wide variety of outdoor fun, even with the notoriously dreary UK weather. (@diaryfirstchild)
- Summer Fun — Darcel at The Mahogany Way finds her family's visits to the beach refreshing in so many ways. (@MahoganyWayMama)
- Playing outside without a backyard — Sheryl at Little Snowflakes doesn't let the lack of a backyard stop her family from enjoying the outdoors. There are plenty of things to do outside of your yard! (@sheryljesin)
- Having Fun Outdoors, Playset Free — Guavalicious at They Are So Cute When They Are Sleeping has resisted a backyard playset in favor of the regular backyard. (@guavalicious)
- Moon Gazing with your Toddler — Paige at Baby Dust Diaries is keeping her toddler up at night, but it's for a good reason: to share the wonders of the night sky! (@babydust)
- the great outdoors — The grumbles at grumbles and grunts wonders whether her urban child can experience the same free-range childhood she enjoyed. (@thegrumbles)
- Let's Take It Outside! — NavelgazingBajan at Navelgazing is looking for ideas: how can she spend time with her pre-walker outside this summer? (@BlkWmnDoBF)
- A home by the sea: June Carnival of Natural Parenting: Outdoor fun — Lauren at Hobo Mama is living her dream of a home near the beach, and taking full advantage of it. (@Hobo_Mama)
- An Outside Girl — Zoey at Good Goog moved her family to (almost) the middle of nowhere so that her outdoor-loving girl could have more grass and less concrete. (@zoeyspeak)
- Neighborhood Nature — Kelly at Kelly Naturally has learned to connect with the nature she has instead of mourning the nature she misses. (@kellynaturally)
- Building Lovely Memories of Swimming, Spiders and Gravestones — Joni Rae at Tales of a Kitchen Witch and her family are simply outdoorsy people. (@kitchenwitch)
- "Buh-Bye" Season — Danielle at born.in.japan must leave laundry behind and follow her son's call to the outdoors. (@borninjp)
- Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas)
- The Color of Dreams — Seeking Mother at Woman Seeking Mother makes gardening magical by teaching her son that each flower is a faery. (@seekingmother)
Right now we have a couple of play structures for Kieran - a small plastic climber (with a platform and small slide) and a swing. The climber has been central to all kinds of imaginative play - some days it is a spaceship, some days it is a pirate ship. Sometimes we stand and bounce balls back and forth forever (Kieran at my eye level standing in the climber), giggling when we bonk each other or when I have to chase one out in the yard. Then again - we play the same games with the brick square of my raised garden bed, so the fake plastic play structure was really unnecessary. If we ever do get a swingset, it will be one that has a fort/playhouse structure of some kind - I just like the creative play they can illicit. Then again, we are the opposite of you - we do not have a park within walking distance, and the parks within a 10 minute drive aren't necessarily designed for 2 yr olds. My opinion might change as Kieran gets older :)
ReplyDeleteWe have a small plastic slide/climber combo right now (the Little Tikes caste one) and the girls definitely enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteOur ideal would have been a fort with a slide coming down but we couldn't find something simple enough. Or I would have loved to have had them get the girls a simple outdoor playhouse but it was the huge structure or nothing.
That power struggle is a whole other post. :)
I remember being in love with the creek that ran behind our house - I never wanted any kind of jungle gym as long as I was able to play outside in my creek.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, Sidney's not old enough to play outside alone and she doesn't quite get all the wonders of exploring the outdoors, so we have her a little swing/slide set. Nothing fancy, nothing big. Just enough to get her to want to go outside and play and spend Q-time together!
I love this idea, though - of encouraging outdoor exploration and imagination!
Another aspect: Isn't it lovely to share a playground with other kids? I find that the backyard ones tend to be for one family only (well, duh, but do you know what I mean?).
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, my friends and I were always all over the communal playground, making up stories together and judging each others' flips on the monkey bars like we were in the Olympics. Even now, Mikko's made some little "friends" at the playground near us!
We do have a few outdoor toys, cozy coupes, water table, outdoor kitchen, and slide, that were either given to us or freecycled/trashpicked. I would like to make the playspace more imaginative and natural in the new house to encourage more exploration but we'll see how ambitious I get.
ReplyDeleteOk, I know I commented earlier yet it seems teh internetz ate my comment.
ReplyDeleteNo one has suggested yet that we get giant play sets. That might be because we don't currently have a backyard. I think I'm with you in that I'd prefer to keep things simple when/if we get a backyard.
This is a really interesting perspective, I'm glad you wrote about it! I grew up with woods and a simple swingset. We naturally chose the woods more often. I think a nearby playground will be plenty for your kiddos - what wonderous adventures are in their futures!
ReplyDeleteI learned this lesson from my boys; unfortunately AFTER I'd already spent too much time and money. They said they wanted a fort/club house. I built the biggest and best I could (month long process, it is quite grand really). Then one day they saw a little 4 foot by 4 foot cabin in the store and said, "that's what we wanted. we thought we could put it under the tree." Damn...
ReplyDeleteI have a daycare but opted not to get an outdorr playset and I'm always surprised when parents ask me why not. I want to say "look at this yard!" Instead I say "I value the natural play of being outdoors and exploring and since we have so many neat things to see here the children have never once complained." And they haven't. I love seeing them dig for worms, play on the tree stumps, make fairy houses, play games with the leaves, dig in the dirt and gravel, and play make beleive in our "magical forest" (the name of our daycare).
ReplyDeleteI love your post and completely agree. We are thinking a simple wooden cubby house for imaginative play but plan more trees, a big digging patch and a dry creekbed instead of slides and swings :)
ReplyDelete